Alex Meyer had a bad outing

[gunnarthor]

2.2ip, 9h, 8er, 1 bb, 2k.

 

He is not having a good season.  I wonder if he'd be better off just working out of the ML bullpen for a bit, getting confidence and getting some starts at the end of the year.  But AAA is not working for him this year.

[HitInAPinch]

ML bullpen:  No.  He's got a WHIP of 1.792. As he is right now, he'd get killed in the ML.  If any move would be made, I'd say a demotion to AA would be the move.  I'd like to hear something from Neil Allen on what's happening.  And it is only 5 starts and 25 innings...

[drivlikejehu]

Hopefully he's not hurt. He should certainly move the AAA bullpen at this point... best case scenario is that his mechanics are out of whack.

[ashbury]

Bringing him up to the majors, whether bullpen or not, would be a panic move at this point. I would have liked him in the 'pen to start the season, but not under these conditions. I think the DL is a likelier landing spot right now, unless his fastball was up to his usual standards, in which case I Just Don't Know.

[Bark's Lounge]

I don't see Meyer as the savior pitching piece, that a lot of people subscribe too. That doesn't mean there is no hope for him, but maybe in the end, he is a valuable bullpen arm? Jose Berrios will get to the bigs before Meyer and has a brighter future.

[mnsportsgeek]

I'm very concerned about Meyer right now. At 25, he's already getting up there in age and is having a terrible year. I'm already starting to write him off in my head a little bit, whether that is premature or not we'll have to wait to find out.

[howieramone2]

The burn rate on starting pitching prospects is very high. We currently have little need for his services, so continue handing him the ball in Rochester until someone beats him out or he forces his way to Target Field. This rebuild was at no time ever dependent on Meyer.

[USAFChief]

I think it's time to put him in the pen.

[jokin]

 

I think it's time to put him in the pen.

 

The major league pen.    And it's been the time for that since ST 2014.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I agree completely with the OP. What he's doing now isn't working. Maybe the major league bullpen is a better place for him than (my opinion here) sitting around in a Triple AAA town doing nothing four days a week and then on the fifth day, pushing his heavy boulder up the hill like Sysyphus. I think he needs a change of scene.

 

Some of us have been fighting for Meyer but he's shown us nothing. He's not starting rotation material. His best start did come with Ryan in personal attendance, however. I still think he's a better piece in the pen than a couple other guys we have though.

[kab21]

People need to relax.  In spring training it was considered ridiculous that Meyer wasn't in the rotation since he was one of the 5 best starters.  He has been a mess but you give a prospect with his skill level more time than 5 starts before making a rash decision.

[Platoon]

An off the wall thought. Mentally tired, since whether he pitches well, or poorly, he is still in Rochester? I am not advocating that attitude, but I am not Alex Meyer either.

[diehardtwinsfan]

First, I don't get the promote him piece. He doesn't deserve it right now. He's still a great prospect, but he's getting hammered. He had control issues last season as well, and I suspect that what he's doing is working on that at the expense of his stats. That might suck for us watching the box score, but this is something he needs to figure out... and soon.

 

Second, no pen just yet. He has 3 options, with this year being his first. I have zero issue letting him figure out things as a starter. Short term pen stint at some point? sure, but I want him building up that arm strength anyways.

 

Third, from what I read, the velocity is still there... Problem is that the pitches are hittable. He's just missing his spots, and it's enough for him to get shelled. That will probably come around, we just need to be patient. The nice thing is that we have 2 younger guys doing well in Gibson and May, with several more on the cusp. The Twins can afford to be patient with Meyer, a callup now isn't going to fix him, it's likely going to make things worse.

[bird]

 

I think it's time to put him in the pen.

 

 

The MLB pen? Don't you think he'd be chewed up and spit out up here right now?

[Shane Wahl]

More details on velocity and whatnot would inform us more before making any kind of decision. I think it could be a total disaster to move him to the bullpen right now. That could have been something he was made to prepare for in spring, but it wasn't. To do it now might cause problems. Keep him starting in AAA unless he is hurt again.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I think he must be hurt. Wasn't there some analysis of his arm angle indicating that this spring? At least, he was pitching differently trying to avoid getting hurt?

[jokin]

 

The MLB pen? Don't you think he'd be chewed up and spit out up here right now?

 

Maybe.... maybe not.  He's spinning his wheels right now, repeating a level he's mastered.  Regular work, under the watchful eye of Neal Allen, 2-3 times a week, might be just the ticket.

[jokin]

 

 

I think he must be hurt. Wasn't there some analysis of his arm angle indicating that this spring? At least, he was pitching differently trying to avoid getting hurt?

 

You're getting towards the issue, although their track record with him makes it seem unlikely they would let him pitch if there was the slightest hint of of a current injury.  The occasional fits of wildness, followed by stints of extreme hitability like yesterday, makes it seem like they're experimenting with his delivery- perhaps to decrease some of the violence in his upper body motion.

[gunnarthor]

One of the reasons I think maybe they should just promote his Mark Appel.  Appel was getting crushed by A+ pitching last year - his numbers were worse than Meyer's.  But a promotion to AA got him better by leaving a bad environment for him.  Now I don't think Rochester is the same launching pad that Appel was in (Texas, I think?) but he isn't this bad.  Some other factor - injury, off the field, bad coaching, mistrust - is clearly affecting him. 

 

Alex Meyer is a big piece of the Twins future, if he can deliver.  He might not be the ace we want but Kiley McDaniel suggested last week that he could still be a two plus pitcher with spotty control and an effective #3 starter.  (IE, when he's on, he's on but he'll have some bad outings as well).

 

I think it's best if he at least gets a taste of the majors and is reminded that the fans, the FO and his team mates are all very excited about having him pitch at the ML level.

[drivlikejehu]

The Twins bullpen has issues as it is. They are carrying a Rule V pick in Graham that Molitor (understandably) doesn't want to use in high pressure situations. Adding Meyer, who has fallen apart as a pitcher, would be a horrible move unless it was to replace Graham. Even then, it doesn't make any sense to me - send him to extended spring training or the Miracle if you want a change of scenery. 

 

Now, this is of course academic - there is no chance the Twins would even entertain the idea of promoting Meyer while he is disintegrating. The question is how many more starts they give him before moving him to the pen or DLing him.

[Craig Arko]

Gibson made his first Mlb start June 29th 2013, May made his on Aug 9th, 2014. Both had difficult rookie seasons, and are turning out okay.

 

I'll venture a guess Meyer follows a similar pattern this year. Up in July, has a rough time to begin with but hopefully improves from there.

[Thrylos]

Six starts.  A .432 BABIP, and a career high 6.04 BB/9 will do that.  Not time to hit the panic button yet.  I am more concerned with the walks than anything else, but he has time.  His FIP is 4.21, which is not that horrible.  And the worse that one can do right now is to put him on the pen (since he is the only pitcher in the organization with number one starter potential.)  

 

The Twins might want to really go down in the root causes here (I suspect they are mechanical as far as control goes) and work with him.   Rodrigez, Diaz, Martinez, Hanson & Farris are not exactly glove glovers down there, but that is that and has affected the whole pitching staff BABIP.

 

Too soon to worry.  Six games.  Check out the Twins' record this season after the first six games.

[drivlikejehu]

Meyer doesn't have #1 starter potential. He doesn't have the command or a 3rd pitch. Hard-throwing righthanders with a slider aren't particularly rare anymore. 

[USAFChief]

The MLB pen? Don't you think he'd be chewed up and spit out up here right now?

Heavens no, sorry I wasn't more clear on that. The last thing Molitor needs is another reliever he can't use except when the game has been decided.

 

I'd stick him in the pen in Rochester, ask him to come on for an inning or two at a time, forget mechanics, third pitches, pitch counts, innings, etc, and just try to blow people away with fastballs and an occasional slider or two.

 

Let him simplify, hopefully experience some success, and then reassess. If he is good at it, bring him up at some point in the big league pen. A dominant RH reliever would really help the Twins.

 

If not, reassess. Maybe at some point let him stretch out and try starting again.

 

But I don't see the progress necessary. Why keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole?

[Thrylos]

 

Meyer doesn't have #1 starter potential. He doesn't have the command or a 3rd pitch. Hard-throwing righthanders with a slider aren't particularly rare anymore. 

 

Meyer has 3 above average pitches (with FB being a plus plus, slow curve - second best pitch- and slider).  He is also working on the Change to make 4 pitches.   He is not a FB/SL guy by any means.

[kab21]

 

Heavens no, sorry I wasn't more clear on that. The last thing Molitor needs is another reliever he can't use except when the game has been decided.

I'd stick him in the pen in Rochester, ask him to come on for an inning or two at a time, forget mechanics, third pitches, pitch counts, innings, etc, and just try to blow people away with fastballs and an occasional slider or two.

Let him simplify, hopefully experience some success, and then reassess. If he is good at it, bring him up at some point in the big league pen. A dominant RH reliever would really help the Twins.

If not, reassess. Maybe at some point let him stretch out and try starting again.

But I don't see the progress necessary. Why keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole?

You are placing way too much analysis on 5 starts.

[ashbury]

Meyer's alternated good starts and bad starts, after beginning the year with 2 bad ones. Since his most recent good start was two starts ago, IF there is no injury issue to anyone's knowledge, I'm inclined to go several more starts before relegating him to the AAA bullpen. The upside of him harnessing major league stuff is too great to take a "safer" route yet.

[USAFChief]

You are placing way too much analysis on 5 starts.

I'm not basing my opinion solely on 5 starts.

 

I think possibly many here are placing way too much analysis on hype, and/or hope.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Not even a Meyer diehard like me can argue that he belongs in the Twins rotation right now. 

 

However, I think promoting him to the MLB bullpen would be fine. He gets a change of environment and he can let it rip for three batters. It's perfectly routine for a future starting pitcher to pitch out of the bullpen before entering the rotation. I seriously doubt it would hurt Meyer's psyche to be told he's being promoted to the big club

 

 

[Sweetwater]

Berrios has number 1 starter potential. He needs to improve his off-speed stuff tho.